Trakanon's Chosen pt. 1 - Nalikor's Mound
by IVtheFranchise
Summary: Norrath prepares for the outcome of a Troll/Iksar war


1 Neriak, City of the Tier'dal  
  
Within the walls of the Neriak Commons, a pair of Tier'dal stood in the hallway of the shopping area known as Neriak Down Under. The first, a small Dark Elf with elder features and a commanding presence for his small frame spoke.  
  
"Have you retrieved it?"  
  
"No my Lord, not yet. However we do know exactly where it is, and who possesses it. It shall be ours soon." Replied a slightly larger elf, more muscular than his companion and carrying a rather large, Bronze-laden sword. A skeleton followed the larger Dark Elf, following his every command. The elf whispered to the skeleton, and the skeleton scurried off to complete his task.  
  
"Not yet? Well what are you waiting for? Soon is not soon enough. You DO understand the consequences of failure, do you not?" the smaller Tier'dal snapped.  
  
"Yes, my lord. I understand." The larger elf stated as his skeleton returned.  
  
The Skeleton turned to his master and snapped in a voice much different from its normal drone. With a fierce scowl on its face, it calmly yet forcefully spoke.  
  
"No. I do not think you fully understand the consequences. Failure in obtaining that which I seek is NOT an option. I will not tolerate anything less that swift and unconditional success."  
  
Both of the elves standing trembled as they realized that the skeleton had been possessed.  
  
"Thel…….Thela……." the small elf stammered.  
  
"FOOL!" the skeleton continued. "Speak my name only if do not value your life. However, You recognized my voice indeed. As I have said before. Failure is not an option. You know what I want. Find it. Retrieve it by any means necessary. Do it quickly. DO NOT FAIL ME."  
  
"At once, Overlord. I will not fail. The Crimson Tier will not fail." The larger elf said softly.  
  
"Good. You would be wise to retrieve it quickly. I have not an abundance of patience. Now go." The skeleton said. The skeleton then crumbled into a pile of bones, as both elves remained frozen, still in awe of the power they had just witnessed.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
2  
  
3  
  
4 Felwithe, Capital of the Kingdom of Faydark  
  
"My Lady, the Orcs have been contained and sent back into Crushbone, and the messenger has been recovered. All is well within Kelethin, General."  
  
"Outstanding. Rise now, soldier. I have yet another task for you." The General replied.  
  
The soldier rose slowly and rendered a sharp salute, which was swiftly returned by the General.  
  
"I will not waste time. I am sending you back to Kelethin. You are to see the Governor of Kelethin, and give him this note." The General said calmly. "Show this note upon arrival in Kelethin, and you will be allowed an audience with the Governor. You are to bring the messenger to me, for I must inquire of him."  
  
"At once, My Lady." The soldier replied, again rendering a salute.  
  
"You are dismissed." The General replied as she returned the salute.  
  
The soldier swiftly mounted his horse and rode off on his task. General Jalyna Valeur turned on her heels and strode confidently towards Felwithe Castle. The King would be pleased to hear her report.. It began to rain, so she hastened her steps to avoid the coming storm. Upon reaching the castle steps, Jalyna turned a gazed at the sky, watching the random bursts of lighting as they streaked across the sky. She suddenly scowled as she felt the strange sensation of evil in the air. She had a bad feeling, yet she could not put her finger on exactly why.  
  
The King of of Faydark, King Tearis Thex II greeted his most trusted General most warmly.  
  
"I hope you bring good news General Valeur." The King said with a smile.  
  
"Indeed I do, your Majesty. The messenger you sent to Emperor Crush has be rescued. With all due respect your Majesty, I disagree heavily with your decision to attempt to make peace with the Orcs. Those vile creatures will never agree to a truce. They have been seeking the destruction of our way of life for centuries. I say we simply launch an assault to permanently remove them from our lands."  
  
The King smiled at the Commander of the Faydark Army. "Ah, General Valeur. You've never been afraid to make your opinion known. I respect your opinion. Yet I believe that if we leave them be in Crushbone, we may be able to co-exist. As it is, our conflict with them is limited to minor scuffles is it not? We are making progress. It is only a matter of time. Then they will be one less enemy for us to worry about." The King's warm, smiling countenance turned deadly serious. Jalyna took note of this swift change in the King's demeanor, and wondered what it was that bothered him "Besides," the King continued in a grave tone. " We cannot spare the forces at the moment for an assault on Crushbone. We have much more serious matters at hand. I have received word from our Intelligence agents on Antonica that something potentially dreadful is happening over there at the moment."  
  
"What is it that you speak of, your Majesty?" Jalyna inquired.  
  
Tearis motioned to his guards, sending them away for a moment. Jalyna also noticed this as well, and wondered even more. "We must not let the people know of this, so not to cause a panic within the Kingdom. At least not until we have confirmed and gotten all the information we can. Therefore, be seriously careful who you let in on this information. Do you understand, General?"  
  
"Yes, your Majesty. I understand completely. What is it that you speak of?"  
  
The King lowered his voice to almost a whisper, and gravely said:  
  
"The Trolls of Grobb are gearing up for war. And the Ogres plan to ally with them."  
  
Jalyna's countenance sharply tightened up. She now understood how grave the situation was. If the Trolls were going to war, then surely the Ogres of Oggok would accompany them. Trolls and Ogres were the fiercest, most brutal warriors of Norrath. The Ogres were involved in some of the bloodiest, brutal wars in Norrath History. They devastated the Kingdom of Kaladim and most of the Continent of Faydwer trying to eliminate the noble Dwarves. They made war with the Rathe Council itself, going as far as invading the Plane of Earth twice. Both times they ravaged the Plane destroying almost everything in it, before finally being repelled. The Trolls were savage warriors, known to eat their fallen foes. If the Trolls and Ogres united and invaded anyone, the results would be devastating for sure. No single Kingdom or City could withstand a full assault from a combined Troll/Ogre armada, not even the Kingdom of Faydwer. And beyond that, the Trolls and Ogres do not stop after attaining victory. For their opponents to surrender is not satisfactory to them. They only stop when there is no enemies left to kill, and nothing left to destroy.  
  
The King continued in a quiet voice. "I received a message from one of our Intelligence Field Agents on Antonica. It is confirmed that they are indeed planning to invade, however it is not known WHERE they are invading. I plan to set up a meeting with all the Kings and rulers. I will tell them of this development and we will attempt to make a plan to guard ourselves against it. In the meantime, I am charging you with a mission. I want you to work behind the scenes. Use all of your resources and manpower if need be. Find out when and where this proposed invasion will take place. Then we might be able to prepare for it."  
  
"Of course, your Majesty. We must act quickly, lest we find ourselves unprepared and a part of Norrath is devastated." Jalyna turned on her heel and briskly strode out of the King's chamber, as his guards returned. Upon leaving the Castle she sent for one of her Brigade Captains. As he approached and saluted she hastily returned the salute and said quickly:  
  
"Captain, go and send for Ennya Orcsbane. Tell her I request her presence in my chamber at once. Tell her it is of the utmost importance, and that I need her assistance. Do not bother saluting. Just go now, as quickly as you can."  
  
"At once, my Lady." The Captain turned to leave when Jalyna said:  
  
"Captain….do not send one of your subordinates for this. You go and get Ennya personally, and bring her to me, please."  
  
"Of course, my Lady." Was the response.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
5 The Western Commonlands, Continent of Antonica  
  
Ennya finished her teleport, and took a moment to orient herself. Her destination was just ahead. Jalyna wished for her to retrieve the leader of the legendary mercenaries known as the Hessians. Their reputation spread through out Norrath. For what purpose she wanted the leader of these vagabonds, she did not know. The General seemed quite stressed however. The wizard assumed that it was something serious, for the most decorated General in Felwithe since Edril to seek the help of these common criminals. She approached a large tavern and read the signpost in front of it: The Pissed Weasel. This had to be the place. What an ugly and common name for a tavern.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
  
6 The Pissed Weasel  
  
The tavern was bustling as usual. Patrons of all shapes, sizes and colors drank and made merry, telling tales of adventures. Gambling was rampant, with the sneaky halflings doing most of the winning. Occasionally two or more patrons would get a little heated, and a fight would ensue. Most scuffles would end quickly, and the mess was handled accordingly. Ennya entered the Tavern cautiously. She looked around searching for the person she needed, when a Water elemental floated up to her. She looked the elemental over carefully and began to ask it questions.  
  
"Who is your leader?" the wizard asked.  
  
"My leader is Surlat." The elemental replied coldly.  
  
"Is Anae here?" Ennya inquired.  
  
"Yes." The elemental replied.  
  
"Vann, get back over here!" A voice sounded from the steps.  
  
"Sorry Surlat." Ennya watched as the elemental floated back to his leader, a tiny bald-headed Gnome sitting in the corner. He was apparently playing around with some kind of mechanical device. She approached him and inquired about Anae's whereabouts.  
  
"So…" the Gnome said. " You wish to entertain an audience with my illustrious Commander? I will summon her for you. Vann, float upstairs and tell Anae that she's got a visitor from Felwithe. Take this with you to give to her." Surlat chanted a short phrase and a piece of parchment appeared out of nowhere, floating in the air for a second before settling in his hands. He scribed on the parchment quickly using Arcane Magic, and gave it to the elemental. "Have a seat my dear. The Commander will be down shortly. Surlat then dismissed his elemental, who disappeared in a small burst and a pool of water. Surlat then began to chant a new spell as he continue to fiddle with his device. The wood on the floor of the tavern began to peel back, and the ground beneath it opened up, creating a hole in the ground. From that hole and Earth elemental floated up and the ground closed behind it.  
  
As they both waited, Ennya gazed around at the tavern population. She marveled at the diversity, the likes of which she had never seen in Felwithe. There were Erudites, Gnomes, Halflings….there were even Tier'dal amongst the crowd. Very few Tier'dal, but they were there. The door to the tavern swung wide open, and a small dwarf woman stepped into the tavern. She hurried over to the table where Surlat and Ennya were sitting, and with a small, effortless swing, she buried her Axe into it. She spoke excitedly to Surlat.  
  
"Hey Eightball!" The Dwarf turned to the Earth Elemental. "Hiya Jonab."  
  
"Hello Bryg." The Earth Elemental replied in a deep, gravely voice.  
  
Surlat spoke without raising his head, staying focused on the mechanical device he was working on. "Greetings Miss Wanderfoot. Allow me to introduce you to Ennya Orcsbane from Felwithe. She is patiently waiting on Anae. Ennya, this is Bryg Wanderfoot, warrior extraordinaire and a Hessian Officer.  
  
"Salutations, Dwarf. A pleasure to meet you." Ennya said.  
  
"Greetin's ta you too, Elf. What brings ye ta th' Weasel?" Bryg replied.  
  
"Bryg, didn't I just say that she was waiting for Anae? " Surlat interjected. Before Bryg could answer, the entire Tavern was interrupted by a screeching wail coming from outside. As they turned to see what the matter was, a Halfling scurried into the tavern, crawling in through a small space on the bottom of the door, which was made for Shaman pets. He then began to run around the tavern screaming like a madman in a high- pitched voice.  
  
Bryg shouted "Sunnen!! What ye be doin? Why ye be makin all th' noise?" Sunnen continued to shout what seemed to be expletives in his native Halfling tongue. "Perhaps I can explain better." A High Elf voice said calmly.  
  
"Iillil, please do." Said Surlat calmly, as Ennya looked around in bewilderment. She wondered how anyone could be calm at the moment.  
  
The elf continued. "Quite simply…..Guzral is hungry."  
  
"Guzral….is…hungry?" Ennya asked in a nervous voice.  
  
"Yes," Iillil replied. " Guzral is hungry, and this is what he wants to eat." Iillil blinked slowly three times, and by the third blink his appearance had morphed from a Tall, Blonde, green-eyed High Elf, to the appearance of a short, pudgy dark-haired Halfling.  
  
"Oh Holy Brell!! The loaf's tryin ta make Sunnen inta Halflin' stew again!" Bryg exclaimed.  
  
Just at that moment the door to the Pissed Weasel flew off it's hinges, burying itself in the rear wall of the tavern. A humongous Troll appeared in the gigantic hole which used to be the doorway, with a huge Silver- plated axe in hand.  
  
"Mee hungry. Wher dat Halfin run to? Mee tinks he be da guud tastin Halfin Stew…" the Troll growled. Bryg looked at Surlat, Ennya, and Iillil as if to wonder what to do next. Surlat responded to her look calmly.  
  
"Let them run around for a bit. I have everything under control." He said with his eyes still focused on that same device he'd been working on.  
  
The troll spotted Sunnen hiding and pounced. Sunnen barely dodged a vicious Axe Swing which left a table broken in half. Sunnen continued to run around the tavern, jumping nimbly onto counters and tables as the Troll chased him and everyone got out of harm's way, for they did not want to become the replacement meal. After about 6 minutes of chasing Surlat said, without moving his concentration from his task:  
  
"Jonab?? Handle this please?"  
  
"As you wish, Surlat."  
  
Once given the order, the Earth Elemental sprang into action. He quickly floated to just barely within striking distance of the troll and began to cast his spell. The ground opened up again as abnormally large roots began to spring up from the ground all around the Troll. The roots quickly wrapped themselves around the Troll massive legs, tightening to the point where he could not move. The Troll, in his attempts to move, fell flat on his face with a huge THUD. Then Surlat spoke to the troll.  
  
"Guzral, Guzral…..how many times must we tell you…DON'T EAT HESSIANS!"  
  
"sorry….but meez da hungry troll…wher da fuud?" Guzral mumbled. "can me eats dat Elfie over dere?" he continued, pointing at Ennya. "she don't look like da Heshuns…"  
  
Ennya scoffed at the Troll, and spoke in an indignant tone. "You most certainly may not! How dare you suggest such a thing you disgusting, little creature!"  
  
The trapped troll flashed a toothy grin. "wots dis-cussed-in? An who she callin da liddle creature? Meez da BIG Troll, and mee eats da liddle peepul like you. Jus wait till me gets outta dis tree!" He growled.  
  
"Calm down Guzzy. She don't mean no harm." A voice sounded from the stairwell. A woman appeared, small in frame yet she held an authoritative aura about her. Iillil, still in halfling form, quickly morphed into the form of a Raven, and perched himself on her shoulder. "Well, it's certainly about time Anae. You have kept our guest waiting for quite some time. It is not often that one comes from Felwithe."  
  
Anae turned to Ennya and stated calmly " You are the one who wants ta see me? I'd appreciate it if ya held yer insults. If you ain't one of us, ya got no right to insult one of us. Now then, I've kept ya waiting long enough. Let's get down to business. Whaddya want?"  
  
Ennya replied matter-of-factly, "Your presence is required at Felwithe Castle. General Jalyna Valeur, High Commander of the Faydark Army wishes to speak with you, and she has sent me to summon you."  
  
"Summon? I thought that was MY job…" Surlat piped in jokingly.  
  
"Felwithe Castle huh? High Commander General? Wants to see little old me? I feel so special.." Anae said sarcastically. "Why should I be interested?"  
  
"She has shared no details with me, so I can not tell what it is about. However, if it is the General who wishes to see you, I imagine it will include a healthy amount of Platinum."  
  
"Ya. Hiring a Hessian ain't exactly cheap. We'll see how healthy that amount is when we get there. Iillil, brush up on your Koa'dadal…Bryg grab yer Axe. Yer both goin with me to Felwithe." Anae said with a smirk. 


End file.
